A Common-Sense Approach to the Gay-Lesbian Issue
By Abraham Eli
A pair of rings on a dictionary with the meaning of marriage. Photo credit: Sandy Millar
Let me state from the outset that this article seeks to reason with those with divergent sexual preferences and who say they are Christians. It is not gay/lesbian-bashing.
Prologue
Time and again, I have encountered people who profess to be homosexual/bisexual or of some other sexual orientation. Strange as this may have been some decades ago, it is no longer strange today. What is strange though, is to hear people professing to be of different sexual orientations, also claiming to be Christian. This is very strange indeed because those two don't go together?it's like having oil and water in the same container! This article is for those who proudly flaunt their divergent sexuality while claiming to be Christian. I am hoping that it will help them understand that Christianity is about living a life that God desires; not the life that we desire!
What The Bible Says
Paul, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, wrote by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
"God's anger is revealed from heaven against all the sin and evil of the people whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known. God punishes them, because what can be known about God is plain to them, for God himself made it plain. Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all! They know God, but they do not give him the honor that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness. They say they are wise, but they are fools; instead of worshiping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortals or birds or animals or reptiles. And so God has given those people over to do the filthy things their hearts desire, and they do shameful things with each other. They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever! Amen. Because they do this, God has given them over to shameful passions. Even the women pervert the natural use of their sex by unnatural acts. In the same way the men give up natural sexual relations with women and burn with passion for each other. Men do shameful things with each other, and as a result they bring upon themselves the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing. Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do." (Romans 1:18-28, Good News Bible)
Certainly, the truth about God is instinctively known by man. Even those who profess to be atheists will call upon God when things get tough, but the moment they are out of the 'woods', they return to their atheist belief.
The creation of God speaks to us about God (Psalm 19:1-4, New Living Translation), "The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world."
When God created the heavens and the earth and all therein is, He made man as a special object of His love. The council of the Godhead met and said, "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground." (Genesis 1:26, New Living Translation) God never made man to be an animal. No! He made man distinct from animals, and to be above animals. If humans were created to be better than animals, then they ought to live above the level of animals!
As inferior as animals are to man, they do not mate male to male or female to female! God has used animals to speak to us that He never made anyone to be homosexual or bisexual. As if that is not enough, God has even spoken to us through magnets! The 'north end' of a magnet repels the 'north end' of another magnet; but when it is the 'south end' of a magnet that is placed in proximity to the 'north end' of another magnet, they stick together. Even inanimate objects like magnets do not display 'homosexual' tendencies! We were made to be united in marriage to the opposite sex and not to the same sex! This is sound biblical truth?it may be politically incorrect, but it is nonetheless the truth!
The Bible tells us further that when God made humans, He made them male and female! If He intended to make them homosexual, He would have made them all male or all female. Most importantly, God said to man, be fruitful and multiply.
A Common-Sense Rationale
You and I know that there is no way there will ever be procreation between two homosexuals! The term 'homosexual parents' is an aberration! Homosexuality is anathema to growth and human reproduction because they cannot make babies! There would be nobody left after one or two generations if all the humans on the earth were homosexual because there would be no reproduction of life as we know it. And so, the world will stagnate and may even cease to exist! The truth is that the homosexual lifestyle does not contribute to life; it destroys it!
It is indeed worrisome and sad to hear of homosexuals wanting to adopt children. This is an act of sacrilege against God and even humanity itself. How can a set of unproductive people (in so far having children) want to reap the benefit of those who are productive? A homosexual union should not seek to gain credibility and acceptance by adopting children born from heterosexual relationships. The inclusion of children in such homes certainly does not make them a family; this is a misnomer! Besides, what kind of personalities would these adopted children exhibit? Are we not compounding problems for future generations? I am fully persuaded that man is yet to fully apply the basic reasoning that God has so graciously endowed us with, else we would know without the shadow of a doubt that you cannot profess to be one thing and want to benefit from what others are which you so clearly don't want to be. This can be nothing but hypocrisy!
God's Love versus His Justice
Some preach that God is love. And that is true. But they forget that He is also a raging (consuming) fire! Hebrews 10:26-27, NLT reads, "Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies." People forget that God said "? I am the one who kills and gives life; I am the one who wounds and heals ?" (Deuteronomy 32:39, NLT). They also conveniently forget to tell us that God said, "? The person who sins will be the one who will die." (Ezekiel 18:4, NLT); and that "It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31, NLT). Yes, God is love, but He is also a just and righteous God! In Deuteronomy 32:3-4, New King James Version, Moses sang, "For I proclaim the name of the LORD: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He." A just judge will have no choice but sentence an erring individual for the safety of lawful citizens and to act as a deterrent to others who may want to tow the same criminal path, and it will be out of love for both the erring individual and society at large. Therefore, being aware of the severity of the judgment of God upon sinful man, we warn everyone to desist from all unrighteous acts (not just a homosexual lifestyle), because out of His love, He will have to judge righteously. This is not being judgmental; it is the truth of God's word! However, He will show mercy to those who repent and seek a way away from their sinful lifestyle!
God's love for all of mankind is manifest in the provision He made for sinners to escape the destruction that is to come upon the world because of sin. But if sinners rebuff that provision which came through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary, then there is nothing left but for them to face the fearful judgment of God! Many will face divine judgment and condemnation because they rejected God's provision for their salvation and deliverance from a sinful lifestyle. The Lord said, "Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they have not believed in God's only Son. This is how the judgment works: the light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil. Those who do evil things hate the light and will not come to the light, because they do not want their evil deeds to be shown up. But those who do what is true come to the light in order that the light may show that what they did was in obedience to God." (John 3:18-21, Good News Bible)
God's Provision
Are you homosexual or bisexual or are of other variety, and you claim at the same time to be a Christian? You'll need to reconsider your stance. You can only be one or the other, but never both! If you want to be a Christian, then you can experience a changed life today. God did not create or make you to be the way you now are?that is a consequence of sin inhabiting the soul of sinful man and man's sinful lifestyle. The idea of a mutation of genes is confusion and not truth! When men do not understand what is happening around or within them, they always seek to explain it away with all kinds of theories and postulations!
There is only one known cure for homosexual/bisexual/untoward sexual attractions and tendencies, and it is in Jesus Christ! This cure requires your acknowledgement and acceptance that the homosexual/bisexual/untoward sexual lifestyle is a sin against God. Such an acknowledgement should then bring you to the place of seeking divine help and intervention through repentance and repudiation of sin. This is true for homosexual/bisexual lifestyle as it is true for any sinful lifestyle like prostitution, drug addiction, stealing, manipulation, and other ingrained sinful tendencies. If anyone is struggling with his/her sexuality, the place to turn to is to the Creator, and He will tell you who He made you to be, and it cannot be that He made you homosexual or bisexual or anything else for that matter. No, God made you in His image and His likeness; He did not make you any other way. Anything else is not of God, trust me on that! God can put things right in anyone's life and that includes you!